Extended Tour and ExplorationsPaid programs at the Michigan Historical Center

Please call us to schedule a program today at 517.272.1359. All programs are $5.00 per student. One teacher and five adults are free, all additional adults pay $4.00 admission. $50 minimum per program. 30 students maximum per program. A minimum three weeks notice is required to book any program.

All Michigan Historical Museum programs can be used to support Social Studies GLCEs related to chronological thinking, questions historians ask, primary and secondary sources and making historical comparisons. ELA GLCEs that concern listening and viewing, asking questions of presenters and analyzing oral and visual presentations are also applicable. For a full list of GLCEs for each program, please contact our Education Specialist at 517.335.3192.

An Extended Tour

Work with a museum docent to create a tour that fits your curriculum plan. Possibilities include themes as well as time periods ranging from prehistoric Michigan to 1975. Program length of 1.5 to 2 hours.

Explorations

These GLCEs aligned thematic tours explore specific eras of Michigan history with groups of 30 students and run between 1.5 to 2 hours in length.

Excursion Descriptions

Growing Up in Michigan

Students clean a rug and haul water as they discover what it was like to grow up on a farm in rural Michigan. Students compare their lives to the lives of late-19th-century children. 1.5 hours in length.

The Voyageur’s Canoe

Learn about the life of a French voyageur and the Great Lakes fur trade as you help pack a canoe. Find out what goods were traded, how they were packed, how many men traveled in a canoe and how much weight the canoe could carry. 1.5 hours in length.

Settlement and Statehood

Explore the challenges of settlement and statehood with the Archives of Michigan staff. Through role-playing, interactive activities and primary source documents, students will play the role of surveyor, settler and citizen of Michigan territory to statehood. 1.5 hours in length.

Tall Pines and Shanty Boys

Discover the lifestyle and work skills that made up the life of a lumberjack. Test your knowledge of lumberjack lingo and discover the importance of tree products in everyday life. Learn about Michigan trees and the importance of the lumber industry to Michigan today. 1.5 hours in length.

Movers and Seekers: Immigrants Come to Michigan

Why do people leave their homes to move to a new place? What do they bring with them and what do they leave behind? Learn about immigrants who have come to Michigan through stories, role-playing and artifacts.

Michigan Mining: Always in the Dark

Dig into Michigan’s mining heritage. Discover what it was like to work in the copper and iron mines of the Upper Peninsula. 1.5 hours in length.

Michigan in the Civil War

More than 90,000 men from Michigan served in the Civil War. Discover the function of music in the army camp using movement, memory and teamwork in the Civil War Music Program OR use decision making skills and real stories of Michigan soldiers and discover what happened to those who were hurt or became ill in the Civil War Medic Program. Programs are 1.5 hours in length.

Michigan: Arsenal of Democracy

Thousands of Michigan citizens worked at home and abroad to help win World War II. Learn what they did and why Michigan was called “The Arsenal of Democracy.”

Geneaology Sprouts

Students will explore the genealogy of their hometown in this unique Archives of Michigan program. With the help of Archives staff, students will use primary source documents to examine their hometown and its people in 1930. They will then use an iPad and Storybird.com to create an original hometown story.

Governor Decision RoomRecommended for ages 14 – 18

The Governor’s Decision Room is the culmination of several years of research and observation about a new direction in history education. With the help and support of the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, David and Betty Morris Family, Masco Corporation, ITC Holdings, Jackson National Life and the Michigan History Foundation, the Archives of Michigan proudly presents the Governor’s Decision Room Program. Click below for sample materials.Program Sample

Watch a trailer of the program below:

The Governor’s Decision Room is now available for scheduling. Please contact Rachel Clark at clarkr[at]michigan.gov to schedule your class or for more information.

Story Circle ProgramsRecommended for ages 2 to 5, 45-minute sessions

This literacy based program to engage our youngest visitors and their families in historic objects and museum settings. During each program, museum staff will read a story to children, teach a hands-on craft or other activity and then give a guided tour of a museum gallery. Each hour session costs $5.00 per participant, chaperones and teachers are free.

Choose from the following thematic story times:

Investigate transportation and Michigan made automobiles with Cool Cars by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker.

Learn about artifacts and the importance of personal stories with Baby Bear’s Chairs by Jane Yolen.

Discover different jobs through time with Homeplace by Anne Shelby.

Learn about overcoming fear with Thundercake by Patricia Polacco.

Investigate environmental sustainability and Michigan’s natural resources with The Day the Great Lakes Drained Away by Charles Ferguson Barker.

Learn about building a community with Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor.

For more information or to schedule a program, please contact Christiana Hanson at 517-241-6852 or HansonC[at]michigan.gov.